The federal government has taken legal action against U.S.-based railway company Omnitrax over its failure to repair its rail line to the isolated community of Churchill, Man. after the tracks were badly damaged by floods last spring. The lawsuit comes after Omnitrax gave formal notice that it plans to file a complaint against the federal government under the North American Free Trade Agreement over its decision to end the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly in 2012.

As The Canadian Press reports, the federal lawsuit alleges Denver-based Omnitrax has failed to repair and maintain the rail line in violation of a 2008 agreement that saw the company receive $18.8 million in federal aid for maintenance and upgrades. The lawsuit seeks repayment of the money.

For its part, Omnitrax says the end of the Canadian Wheat Board drastically reduced grain shipments along the rail line and through the Port of Churchill. In its formal notice, the railway said the open market allowed producers to use southern rail lines and Canadian-owned ports.

Around Town

Parliament is off this week.

Two days of pre-round five NAFTA talks get underway in Mexico City, where the formal round is set to start Friday.

The Canadian Grain Commission said Tuesday it has launched a weekly statistical report on the allocation of producer cars. The report will be available on the websites of both the Canadian Grain Commission and the Government of Canada’s Open Data. Data will be updated weekly, the Commission said in a release.

In Edmonton, Alberta’s Minister of Municipal Affairs Shaye Anderson delivers a keynote speech at the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties convention and “will make an announcement that responds to concerns he heard while visiting rural communities across Alberta this summer,” according to a release.

In Canada

We start with some developing news: Loblaw Company Inc. says it will close 22 stores and launch a home delivery service in Toronto and Vancouver. As The Canadian Press reports, Loblaw is partnering with California-based Instacart to deliver food and other pantry staples from its Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, and T&T stores to Toronto customers in early December. Vancouver deliveries will start in January.

And farmer frustration with Ottawa’s proposed tax changes seems to be subsiding after the federal government walked back the plan. CBC News has the story.

Internationally

Moving to NAFTA now, where sources say Canada and Mexico are in no hurry to adopt trade language taken from the pending Trans Pacific Partnership agreement. “We don’t want to give it for free,” said one source. “They wanted out (of the TPP) and now they want it for free.” The Canadian Press has the story.

Meanwhile, a recent letter sent by more than 80 American farm groups to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross clearly struck a nerve. Speaking at a Wall Street Journal event, Ross said the current NAFTA negotiating environment has become more complicated because of interest groups, like agriculture, publicly kicking up a fuss.

“As one special interest group, say agriculture, for example, gets nervous, they start screaming and yelling publicly,” Ross said. “They start writing letters, soliciting the Congress people, and [then] they start screaming and yelling in public. It just complicates the environment and, frankly, makes the negotiations harder.” Politico has the story.

In other NAFTA-related news: Canada gave formal notice Tuesday that it wants a binational panel struck over the U.S. Commerce Department’s decision to impose duties on Canadian softwood exports. iPolitics has the latest.

Monsanto and U.S. farm groups are taking the state of California to court over its decision to require cancer warning labels be placed on products containing the popular herbicide glyphosate. California added glyphosate, a key ingredient in Monsanto’s Round Up product, to its list of cancer-causing chemicals in July, with warnings labels required by July 2018. Reuters has more.

Another case of mycoplasma bovis has been found on a New Zealand farm. The case brings the number of infected farms to eight. Reuters has the details.

Also from Reuters: An Egyptian court on Tuesday effectively reinstated a ban on wheat imports containing even trace levels of the common grain fungus ergot – a decision that could re-open a longstanding row over import rules that has disrupted trade, a lawyer involved in the case said.

Fans of Félicette, the first cat in space, want the feline’s contribution to science recognized. Their request? A statue in Paris in her honour. CBC News’ As it happens caught up with man behind the campaign.